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| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Public Affairs |
| Date: June 28, 2005 | (919) 807-6963 |
Community College System President receives Honorary Doctorate
 H. Martin Lancaster, DUniv |
H.
Martin Lancaster, North Carolina Community College System President,
received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) from the
University of Ulster (Northern Ireland) on Tuesday, June 28. The honor is
in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to education on the
national and international arena." The degree follows three years of
collaborative work with higher education officials and institutions in
Northern Ireland as they restructure their programs to be more workforce
and economic development focused and as they design programs to produce
closer working relationships between two and four year higher education.
Lancaster was the graduation speaker as well as the recipient of an honorary degree. In accepting his degree, Dr Lancaster shared a glimpse life in North Carolina and how it relates to that of the audience. "In North Carolina, many people trace their roots with pride to the soil of Northern Ireland," said Lancaster. "Many more know what it is to face an economy in transition, moving from the land and the mills into a future where knowledge - and the quality of education - will define prosperity." |
Professor Peter Roebuck, Provost of the Coleraine Campus of the University of Ulster, where the ceremony took place, presented the degree to President Lancaster. He praised the American educator, saying, "He has always been a leader; he has always sought leadership; and leadership has always sought him." Roebuck continued, "Today, this is manifest in his outstanding leadership of one of the largest, most far-flung and widely-recognized Community College Systems in the United States."
Lancaster has also been involved in working on various higher education exchange opportunities for faculty and students between the North Carolina Community College System and colleges in Northern Ireland.
The education exchange began with a study tour in 2002 to North Carolina community colleges and four public universities by a group of higher and further education leaders from the United Kingdom. President Lancaster led a delegation on a reciprocal eight-day study tour to the United Kingdom in 2004.
The purpose of the exchange visits was to enable the participants to consider the similarities and differences between their respective higher education and postsecondary systems and to develop a greater understanding of strategies employed by further education colleges, community colleges, and higher education institutions. The ultimate outcome sought for this exchange is to identify best practices and create further exchanges between the participants and the institutions represented.
More information about the University of Ulster and graduation ceremonies may be accessed at: http://www.ulster.ac.uk/news/grad2005/
A complete report on the Higher Education Study Program may be accessed on the NCCCS Website at: http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Chancy_Kapp/UKexchangecover.htm
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